


The Words

by statichearts



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: 10x12 fill in, Canon Compliant, M/M, Wedding Fluff, in which lip got robbed of being sappy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-26
Updated: 2020-06-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:34:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24931606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/statichearts/pseuds/statichearts
Summary: Lip Gallagher never believed much in love. He'd seen it collapse too many times in his life, seen his own relationships fail time and time again but what he didn't realize was that an example of true love had always been right in front of him.The love his brother had for Mickey Milkovich.10x12 fill in fic for Lip's best man speech at the boys' wedding.
Relationships: Ian Gallagher & Lip Gallagher, Ian Gallagher/Mickey Milkovich, Lip Gallagher & Mickey Milkovich
Comments: 22
Kudos: 263





	The Words

**Author's Note:**

  * For [enbytim](https://archiveofourown.org/users/enbytim/gifts).



> The only person I would attempt to write Lip POV for is Vic and it just so happens to be their birthday. It might not be great for my first attempt but I put my heart into it and it's the thought that counts, right? Happy birthday, Vic!! I love youuu <3

When Lip looked back on it, he’d need both hands to count how many weddings came across the Southside in the last ten years. Fake ones, ones that never made it to the altar, ones that ended in divorce, and the always classic shotgun. It was a history of missteps and it wasn’t that Lip was jaded, no - he just didn’t think marriage was all people cracked it up to be. 

Forever? Forever was a commitment that people barely made to their own children, let alone over something as fleeting as love. But then again, Lip had never been in love. Come close, maybe but love, love? He wasn’t sure the bug ever came close enough to stinging him. 

It wasn’t until Ian told him that Mickey was back in the picture that Lip started to see things differently. He wasn’t blind, hardly stupid - for years, Lip was a bystander to the saga that was his brother and Mickey Milkovich’s romance. He’d seen it all - seen the way they tore into each other, broke each other, left and came back together. 

The protective side of him wanted to shield Ian from diving back into uncertainty, from taking any more chances on Mickey Milkovich but where Lip was worried - Ian never was. Between marriages, Mexico, and prison, Ian always chose Mickey. For a long time, Lip didn’t get it until he did. When he saw the look in Ian’s eye when Mickey got of prison - like his life was finally going to start. 

And now the next wedding in the Southside was his little brother’s. 

It went without saying that Lip wasn’t entirely prepared. Not at first. 

When Ian chose him to be best man (which wasn’t shocking but formalities, right?), Lip thought about writing it down. He managed to get a few lines down on paper between one of Freddie’s naps but every word seemed contrived, too forced and fluffy to be anything Lip actually wanted to say. That idea went out the window quickly and when the day of the wedding came, he’d come to the conclusion that he’d wing it - no matter if all of his other siblings told him that was a shit plan. 

Shit plan or not, Ian would know if Lip phoned it in and maybe that mattered to him. Maybe that was the most important part. 

When the chairs for the ceremony were finally cleared away and the guests shuffled around, Ian and Mickey moved to a section of their own - the pair of them in the middle of the table, making eyes at each other for a good five minutes. It made Lip smile to himself, amused at how quickly marital bliss was really settling in.

Instead of interrupting, he let them have their moment and moved to the DJ instead, who had already fixed him a set of microphones. One for him and one for Sandy. In between the roar of the crowd, Lip ushers Sandy over and the two of them huddle next to each other to try and work out a plan. 

“Flip for it? Who goes first?” Sandy offers, her fingers messing with the edge of her black jacket. 

It’s a tempting offer but Lip looks off into the crowd, sees Debbie bouncing Frannie in her lap and Carl shaking the presents and for some reason, it makes him choose.

“Brother before cousin, right?”

Sandy chuckles at that, undoing the first button on the fabric to shrug it off. “Fuck, I’m so glad you said that. I’m sweating in this damn jacket already.” 

Lip puts a hand on her shoulder and grabs one of the mics, muttering a quick ‘thanks’ before giving the top of it one single thump. It signals the music to cut off and suddenly the room dips into silence, all the eyes in the room turning onto Lip. 

“Alright so, guess I should start.” Lip halfway jokes and he can see Ian smiling already, his hand intertwined with Mickey’s. Something about the sight settles his stomach, makes it easier to continue. “Once I knew this was happening, I planned on saying something really meaningful. Even wrote it all down. About how love lasts forever and people are soulmates but you know, it didn’t seem real - didn’t seem like us.”

The crowd is listening to his every word, clearly expecting a lot out of the best man’s speech. He catches Debbie’s eyes and she gives him an encouraging nod. A brief beat and Lip continues, his gaze moving from the ground and back up at differing intervals as he walks along the area set aside for the dance floor. 

“Our family’s never been much for words. We’re barely even functional on a good day but we’re there for each other. And as a brother, my job was always to look after my siblings. I’d teach them how to ride a bike, find their toys for them, take them back and forth from the L. It was just what I did.” He clears his throat, feeling a hint of something prick behind his eyes and he can’t look up straight away just in case anyone’s noticed. 

“I didn’t have to be asked to do all that and - nobody asked Mickey to do it either. But that’s the thing, right? He kind of swooped in, did all the things I couldn’t do. He looked after my brother better than I could sometimes.” 

And sure, the guilt gets Lip sometimes. When he thinks that maybe he should have done more, pushed harder, guided Ian differently but looking at him now, his little brother is better off because of the mistakes. Ian’s better off even if Lip still wished he was a better brother. 

“And I knew - guess I always knew that something about them was different. I don’t believe much in love but I believe that Ian and Mickey love each other and that’s - well they’re damn lucky to have that. In a place like this, where everything goes to shit, my brother got really lucky and that’s all I ever wanted for him. All I’ll ever want for him.” 

Lip meets those two sets of eyes at the table again and he pauses, pressing his lips together. Mickey sits a little taller, maybe the words being something he always needed to hear while Ian has that glistening look to his eye as he pulls Mickey’s hand into his lap. 

“I’ve seen him go from a fifteen year old kid trusting me with his secrets to a man, who married the same guy from all those years ago. That’s special, you know? Not all of us will have something like that. So hold onto it, take care of it because I can’t think of two guys who deserve it more.”

From the corner, Sandy swoops back in and hands Lip a glass to do the toast with. It’s cool against his sweaty palm and he stares at her before she mouths ‘it’s water’ with a thumbs up. He nods, chuckling to himself as he raises the glass up high. 

“So cheers to the happy couple and welcome to the family, Mickey. Love you guys.” 

The crowd starts cheering, everyone knocking back the champagne in their glasses and giving their cheers to the newlyweds. Lip stares at the clear liquid in his cup and part of him wants that dull burn of alcohol when he downs it but he holds back, breathing out a laugh. He sets the glass down on a nearby table and he peers over his shoulder to see Sandy fumbling a bit with the mic. It makes him laugh before he moves through the crowd to where Ian and Mickey are seated. 

Both of them get up at nearly the same time and Lip goes to Mickey first, wrapping an arm around his shoulders to pull him in for a hug. They’ve never done this and maybe it’s weird or just unfamiliar but Mickey doesn’t push him away.

“Take care of him, yeah?” Lip whispers so only Mickey can hear. He can’t help, can’t help but say something that Mickey’s already been doing for years. 

Mickey pulls back and nods. “Always, man.” He smiles and nudges Lip to the side, right into the awaiting arms of Ian. 

He’s taller than Lip, broader in the shoulders but no matter what changes or how their lives travel apart - Lip is Ian’s brother. The two embrace and Lip can almost feel Ian getting emotional again, pulling back to lightly slap a hand on his right cheek. 

“Hey - I’m proud of you. You’re doing better the rest of us.” 

Ian chuckles, a watery tone to it and he clears his throat, hugging Lip one more time. “Thanks for being my brother.” 

And it brings them back to outside the prison, when they parted and Lip knows that things are going to change. They won’t huddle in the same bedroom, talk about their love lives, run from cops, or be the same guys they were but - this is better. 

Both of them being happy? That’s better. 

“Never had a choice.”

**Author's Note:**

> come talk to me at:  
> [@s11mikhailo](https://twitter.com/s11mikhailo) \- twitter // [xgoldendays](https://xgoldendays.tumblr.com) \- tumblr


End file.
